Chief marketing officers and chief information officers must work together to ensure optimum success with customer experience, Forrester's Sheryl Pattek and Nigel Fenwick write. Review your customers' needs and build technology to meet them, set customer-related goals for all staff, and empower every team to put the customer first.

The Secret to Digital CompetitivenessExperimentation is emerging as the next major digital capability that will separate business winners from losers. This original research report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services delves into the rise of experimentation and how companies like Gap, HP, and WSJ are making it work.

Business-to-business marketers should create content that matches where the customer is on their buying journey. Write blogs to build brand awareness, use targeted content such as case studies for the consideration stage, and create testimonials or how-to videos for when the customer is about to make a purchase.

Business-to-business marketers need to think strategically when it comes to distributing content. Earned media is thought to be 80% more effective than owned media in the middle and bottom of the funnel, and 38% more effective at the top of the funnel, per PR Newswire.

From everyday inspiration to the epic dreams-for-someday, these trends are what people all over the world are looking to for the year ahead. Businesses have used this list to inspire campaigning, merchandising, and even product development. Pinterest is announcing the official 100 Pinterest trends for 2019. Read it here.

The US Postal Service has launched a service called Every Door Direct Mail that provides an interactive route map with demographic data that businesses can use to target prospective customers in their localities. This piece provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the service for direct-mail campaigns.

Even in the digital era, old-fashioned networking can still be one of the best ways to market your business, writes consultant Kevin Jordan. However, effective networking requires more than simply handing out your card. It means "developing long-term, meaningful relationships with quality business professionals who are ready and willing to help you accomplish your business goals," writes Jordan, who offers five tips for putting this strategy into practice.

Learn how today's leading marketers are growing their brands and driving business growth by attending ANA/BMA16: Masters of B2B Marketing, June 1 to 3 in Chicago, Ill. Hear from CMOs at Hiscox, SEI, GE, Demandbase, United Rental, and Pegasystems, as well as other senior marketers and industry thought leaders. Register now.

Brands say that improving the customer experience is their top priority for using data-driven marketing, whereas agencies cite identifying prospects and new audiences as their top goal, per Econsultancy and Adobe. Both cite keeping and upselling current customers as an additional priority.

Product launches are never easy. In a competitive marketplace, there are no guarantees that an innovative product will captivate customers, stand out against competitors, and generate an increase in sales. This guide from Brandfolder provides critical information on how to cultivate anticipation for a product before launch, ways to streamline product messaging throughout a global organization and the importance of tracking a product launch.

From now through May 13, nominations and entries are being accepted for the 2016 ANA Genius Awards. The awards recognize companies and individuals leading the way in applying analytics to prove the value of marketing. Brands can enter themselves, and agencies and vendor partners can nominate clients. The winners will share a $100,000 cash prize pool designated for the charities of their choice. Visit this page for more information on how to enter.